Friday, May 21, 2010

'90s Slang | 10 Words & Phrases We Need To Retire

How funny is it to hear your mom say things like, "Oh, that burger place really is da bomb" ... On one hand you're relieved she didn't say, "da bomb diggity." However, on the other hand, you think to yourself it's cute she's trying to be hip--too bad she's about ten years too late ... On that note, I present you with more slang we truly need to retire, if we haven't already.

Guide To Uncool 1990s Slang

1. "Stud Muffin" as in "Hot Guy" ... now I myself have referred to hot guys as "stone cold fox", but come on, something '70s is obviously cool in the old-school sense. You just know it's being thrown around as a fun vintage word.

2. "Phat" as in "Cool" ... this was a term that became popular during the early to mid '90s and although it's very rarely used today, I hated it back then because, well, ya know. My buddy Rob would see me at a rave and say, "Hey Al, phat shirt ya got on tonight!" referring to a cool t-shirt I picked up at a hipster shop on the LES. Said shirt most likely had a play on the Pepsi logo or something. In my mind I'd think, "Hellz yeah it's a fat shirt, it's an XL" >:-(

3. "All that and a bag of chips" as in "Awesome" ... made famous, I'm guessing by 1990s TV talk shows and Austin Powers, but please if you're still saying this, I'm sorry.

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4. "Talk to the hand!" as in "Don't even!" ... see #3.

5. "Really?" as in "No you didn't!" or "For real?" ... I've bitched about this on Facebook before. I'm so sick of this "Really" stuff. Like enough already.

6. "Homie" or "Homeslice" as in "buddy" or "friend" ... Does anyone even say this anymore? Lame.

7. "Not so much" as in "not very cool" or "lame"... I am going to give Borat credit for "Not so much". I think he popularized the phrase. It's time to retire this one along with "Really?" ... Even though it's from 2000-something, it's time.

8. "Shiznit" as in "Cool" or "It's the sh*t" ... Another slang word I hope we don't hear too much of, since it's very '90s. For some reason "shiznit" sorta reminds me of something Robin Williams would say as Mork on Mork & Mindy.

9. "What's the dilly?" variations: "What the dillie?", "What the dealy?" or "What the dilly, yo?" as in "What's the deal?" or "What's up?" ... another phrase I am hoping none of you still utilize today. Very 1990s.

10. "Scrub" as in "A loser guy who thinks he's 'all that and a bag of chips'" ... Big in 1994 and made famous by the '90s pop group TLC with "No Scrubs. Notice I said 1994.

Other words not included on this list are "cool beans" thanks to my friend Rene for that one, which reminds me of "coolio" meaning basically the same thing. The simplistic term "cool" will always be cool in my book, no need to add to it. Feel free to list your own personal favorites in the comment section.

"I know, right?" as in I agree and am totally shocked/outraged/etc as well. Sadly I still use this. And "wicked" as and adjective, as in that test was wicked hard. Also still in use. Damn I need to get current!

I use almost all of these - but almost never seriously so I pretty much already treat them as fun vintage words. Maybe they were all just a bit too Ricki Lake for me to think I could pull them off convincingly in everyday speech. Except 'really?' - I've been using that since birth unless I'm misunderstanding your sense of the word.

I had a boss who said "cool beans" all the time. I wanted to smack him.

I do still love "really" though. Every time I hear/say it I think of the SNL Weekend Update sketch Really? With Seth and Amy (or just Seth now, I guess), but I basically just love everything on Weekend Update. Also, I say "basically" way too much.

Great list... irresistible! It actually took me a long time to START saying some of these. My little bro was all about (is it still cool to say "all about?") what the dilly-O and "coolio" and I just felt like a moron even trying.

For some reason I still think it's hilarious to hear grown men, lawyers and stock brokers, calling their buddies "dawg." "What up dawg."

I only recently realized that "shiznit" and "what the dizzle" etc. was actually Missy Elliot's revival of the ebonics language thing they used in the old disco song "Double Dutch."

One question: I don't get the "really" thing. I say "really" and never thought I was being slangy. Am I missing something here? Really seems like a pretty classic term. No? Maybe one day you can do a video blog of these terms in common use!

oh!! i'm back. i also wanted to add that "stud muffin" dates back to the '80s. i remember when my friend jen link used this term in like fifth grade to describe some cute boys she was introduced to at her new school after she moved.